Fashion brand Max eyes Rs 3,000 crore revenue by FY18

The average size of a Max store is 10,000-12,000 sq ft and each store entails an investment of around Rs 5 crore.MUMBAI: Value fashion brand Max, promoted by Dubai-based retail and hospitality conglomerate Landmark Group, is eyeing a revenue of Rs 3,000 crore by 2017-18 and plans to add around 100 stores in the next three years, a top company official said.

"We are growing at 35 per cent CAGR (compounded annual growth rate). This year we will be crossing Rs 1,800 crore.We are planning to become Rs 3,000 crore company in the next two years (FY18)," Max Fashion India Executive Director Vasanth Kumar told PTI.

Largely a family-format store, Max is a USD 1.6 billion brand across 17 countries. It operates 140 stores across 50 cities in the country and plans to take the total to 250 stores by 2018-19.

"We are expanding at the rate of one every two week, around 25 to 30 stores per year. We added 30 stores this year. We should be around 250 stores in the next three years," he said.

The average size of a Max store is 10,000-12,000 sq ft and each store entails an investment of around Rs 5 crore.

Max operates in a mid-market industry which is estimated to be around Rs 80,000 crore, largely dominated by organised players.

This is the fastest growing segment in the apparel industry, growing at 10-12 per cent.

Asked if the lack of new mall space is creating a problem, Kumar said, "the market is growing irrespective of the fact whether the malls are growing."

He explained that in a city like Bengaluru they are opening 60 per cent of the stores in high-street and 40 per cent in malls, adding that high-street stores account for a third of the brand's business.

On the revenue mix, he said, they sell 25 per cent men's wear, 20 per cent western wear (women), 18 per cent ethnic women's wear, 25 per cent kids wear and 12 per cent footwear and accessories.

Max, which was launched in 2006, tweaks some products depending on the cities, but 80 per cent of the range it offers is the same across the country.

It recently launched a millennial format targeted at the youth and plans to have 10-12 stores in the new format in the next three years.

"We are focusing on 18-30 year old, who are a little more fashion forward.So we have done some exclusive range also for them. This chain is going to be very selective and we are looking at in the premium malls in the top 7 cities," he said.

The brand gets 30 per cent of business from the youth in its regular store format.